The Clifton clarion., 1887-10-19
What Might Have Been.

"Had President Lincoln kept an engagement he made with me he might, perhaps, be living still," said Mir. Randall, of New York, formerly Of St. Louis, the other evening. Mir. Randall IS the father of Mrs. Gar ison, anu ihe conversation took place on thr piazza of her residence here. When urged to tell the story Of how tI. could be, he mentioned that dur Ing the latter part ol the winter of I'-5, hc, knowing the state of affairs he part of Missouri within the rebel In and in the adjacent States, where
 oy smith, with twenty thousand n. was only held in check and kept
 au making raids by sixty thousand
 n of the Union Army, and, being
 re that Kirby smith and his men,
 ng had no pay or clothing issued
 Iam for six months, were greatly
 tisfed with Jeff Davis and the
 lerate Government, and were
 ened by the knowledge of the
 sites of their wives, children, >: lers. and sisters, who were actu-
 barefooted as well as otherwise
 fly clothed, thought that he
 U ON llCStOCeAbsC ltiOtlilO lO Att
 art of the country of smith and
 men and prevent their making
 more raids. This he sought to
 Dy getting permission for Union
 Fl to buy their cotton, which he
 w was packed ready for sale, and
 hitting the destitute Southerners
 ny the necessities of life in return. He opened negotiations with Presi- ant Lincoln at Washington through
 Dick" Yates, who at one time was Governor of Illinois, and represented to him the wise policy of adopting the plan he proposed, for he said there were no other Confederates in arms in that part of the country, and he felt convinced the plan he urged would effectually dispose of Smith and his men, and that money to buy the necessaries of life procured by the sale of cotton and the opportunity given to purchase such supplies, would, he thought, convert some of them into good Union men, while it would induce all to cease raiding. "And if you do not buy their cotton," MT. Randall pleaded, "they will burn it as soon as they see Federal troops approaching to seize it. It is ready alike for sale or for the torch" He went to see President Lincoln finally himself and succeeded in convincing him of the wisdom of the proposed plan, and secured the necessary per init to stock boat with supplies and to send it and purchasers of cotton to the proper points on the Mississippi, whence negotiations might be opened for the purchase of the cotton so much needed in Northern factories, and for the sale of food and clothing to the starving, ragged Confederates.
 All seemed likely to go well, the boat was fitted up and stocked at great expense, and started on her trip, but unfortunately delaJ's wee made by the naval officers command ing our squadron on the Mississippi and by army officers guarding posts on land, and the vessel was not al- lowed to proceed. Finally, after many attempts to set matters right, Mir. Randall determined to go to Washington again, see Mir. Lincoln, Starton, and Welles, and send the boat, which had already cost q large sum, to its destination President Lincoln first InJle a. .JP0.Htl.gup y0 see Mr. Randall at the n hi-e House on Friday evening, April Il, lS55, and the latter was about to take train from New York, whither he had gone, to Washington to keep the engage ment when he received a telegram saying that the President preferred to postpone the conversation until Saturday evening, because he wished to have time, when it took place, to talk at length with Mr. Randall, and on Friday he wished to go to see Laura keene in "Our American Cousin"
 So Mr. Randall started from New York Friday night to keep the en- gagement for Saturday evening, and on reaching Baltimore next morning was amazed to find his train under arrest, the order having been issued to q low no trains to leave that city in any direction, and was appalled, to learn that the cause of this was the assassination of President Lincoln in Washington the previous night [Long Branch Correspondence Phila- delphia Times.